Arts & Humanities

Amidst misinformation, critical thinking needs a 21st century upgrade

March 26, 2024

In 2013, the University of California, Berkeley, debuted a course to teach undergraduates the tricks used by scientists to make sense of the world, in the hope that these tricks would prove useful in assessing the claims and counterclaims that bombard us every day.

It was launched by three UC Berkeley professors — a physicist, a philosopher and a psychologist — in response to a world afloat in misinformation and disinformation, where politicians were making policy decisions based on ideas that, if not demonstrably wrong, were at least untested and uncertain.

The class,...

The Next Generation of Internet Sustainability—and the URAP Students Making it Happen

March 8, 2024
Berkeley Professor Nicole Starosielski is leading the way in subsea cable network sustainability while also empowering the next generation to take the lead.

While many people may think satellites are responsible for telecommunications as we know it, the global subsea cable network actually carries more than 99% of the internet traffic between continents. Because of their marginal carbon footprint, subsea cables have often been excluded from internet sustainability studies, yet they have the most potential for providing sustainable communications infrastructure.

Professor...

Graduate Student Sylvie Thode on “Why do we do what we do in criticism, and how do we do it?”

February 27, 2024

Woman with brown hair sits at a desk with one hand holding a book downSylvie Thode is a graduate student for the English department, whose work focuses on gender and sexuality studies, textual criticism, and drama. After having Sylvie as my graduate student instructor for a course on Shakespeare and talking with her about her research, I realized she would be an amazing addition to our column, as her work centers literary...

Generous gift will improve Bancroft Dance Studio

February 26, 2024

UC Berkeley will refurbish the Bancroft Dance Studio thanks to a generous gift by Daniel Hitchcock ’69, a mathematics and physics alum. Hitchcock provided the crucial funding to make the studio space safer and more accessible. The enhancements will include re-sanded floors, repaired windows, and a new water filtration system.

“Upkeep of the Bancroft Dance Studio is one of the department's greatest needs and a top...

Tristan Soto Moreno: "I know that my future clients will be global and the more languages that I can speak...the better I can serve"

February 6, 2024
Tell me about yourself and what languages you speak.

I am a third-year Political Science major, and I speak Spanish and English. Spanish is my first language, and I started speaking English once I started grade school. I also just completed my first year of Italian here at Berkeley.

What made you decide to study a language at Berkeley?

I had always opted to study a variety of languages in High School, though they were limited. It’s always been an interest of mine. When I got to Berkeley, I found that taking a language introduced me to people who...

Atreyee Gupta: "Art history, as a discipline, has constantly exploded and expanded what art is, what it can do, and what counts as art."

February 6, 2024

Person with short dark hair wearing glasses and a taupe blouseFor our next interview, I will be speaking with Professor Atreyee Gupta of the History of Art Department. Professor Gupta’s area of focus is on Global Modernism, and Modern and Contemporary South and Southeast Asian art. She is also affiliated with the Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies, and the Center for Race and Gender, and has been a...

As a kid, he learned men don't cry. As an art practice student, he's challenging that.

February 14, 2024

Dark haired main wearing glasses is looking outside a window framed with geometric iron bars and a turquoise shutterPhotographer Brandon Sánchez Mejia, whose cohort is part of UC Berkeley's Department of Art Practice's 100th year, showcased his senior thesis project, "A Masculine Vulnerability," in the campus's Worth Ryder Art Gallery last semester.

Brandon Sánchez Mejia stood at a giant wall in UC Berkeley’s Worth...

Berkeley’s Arts Research Center (ARC) hosts 22 Indigenous Poets for Reclamation Poetry Gathering

February 12, 2024

A collage of several poetry fellows in a grid of imagesThe Arts Research Center—a think tank for the arts at UC Berkeley—will gather 19 fellows chosen to participate in the 2023 Spring/Fall Poetry & the Senses program for a series of readings, conversations, and workshops, hosted at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, and led by the year's...

Sebastian Cahill, class of '23, "Archival research was the highlight of my undergraduate career at UC Berkeley."

January 16, 2024

Graduate dressed in black with lime green sneakers waves commencement regalia while sitting in front of University LibrarySebastian Cahill, class of '23, is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley, where he received a B.A. in English and Comparative Literature. Currently, he works as a news reporter for Business Insider. He hopes to return to graduate school in the coming years to do a Ph.D. program combining his studies...